Big four bank ANZ has been served a vote of no confidence by its shareholders, with the company receiving its second strike in as many years at its annual general meeting on Thursday.
The company revealed 32.3 per cent of shareholders had voted against the bank’s executive pay scheme, above the 25 per cent required to be considered a “strike” and allowing investors to spill the board and re-elect the company’s directors.
ANZ chairman Paul O’Sullivan (left) with chief executive Nuno Matos.Credit: Aaron Francis
Those resolutions did not pass, however, with just 1.45 per cent voting in favour of spilling the board.
The backlash comes after a string of mishaps by the bank over the past 12 months. In September, ANZ agreed to a $240 million penalty to settle four separate legal cases from the corporate watchdog ASIC, including ANZ’s role as manager in the issuance of a 10-year government bond, where ASIC accused the lender of acting unconscionably.
ANZ also cut 3500 jobs during the year, with newly appointed chief executive Nuno Matos facing significant backlash from staff who disagreed with his ambitious change agenda.
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The cost of the redundancies, alongside the fines and other penalties paid by the bank, resulted in ANZ reporting a 14 per cent fall in cash profits to $5.8 billion in the last financial year.
At Thursday’s AGM, Matos acknowledged the bank’s failings throughout the year, saying as chief executive, he was “ultimately accountable”.
“Despite our good intentions, we have not consistently lived up to the expectations of our customers across all of our businesses,” he said.
